Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc (LSE: SPX) is a leading British-based manufacturer of steam management systems and peristaltic pumps and associated fluid path technologies. It is headquartered in Cheltenham and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

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The Company was founded by Herman Sanders in 1888 and after a Mr Rehders joined the business, established as Sanders, Rehders & Co. ('Sarco') in London importing thermostatic steam traps from Germany.[2] It started to manufacture steam traps in United Kingdom under the Spirax brand name in 1932 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1959.[3] In 1960 a range of self-acting pressure controls are introduced for the first time: then in 1963 it bought Drayton Controls, a control valve and instrumentation business.[4]

In 1990 the Company diversified in pump manufacturing in 1990 when it bought Watson-Marlow.[5] It acquired the Jucker Industrial Division, an Italian controls business, in 1993,[6]Bredel Hose Pumps, a business manufacturing high-pressure hose pumps, in 1996[7] and M&M International, an Italian piston actuated and solenoid valve business in 2001.[8] In September 2005 it acquired Mitech Actuators & Controls and Proportional Control Technology, a pair of South African businesses making process controls.[9] Then later that year it bought EMCO Flow Systems, a metering business.[10]

The company acquired Intervalf, a Turkish operation, for £2.8m in 2009.[11] It completed a new facility in Shanghai, China in June 2010: the plant, designed as Spirax's regional headquarters, combines a factory, warehouse, and offices.[12]

In 2011 the Minister for UK Trade & Investment, Lord Green, opened the new Spirax Sarco facility in Saint Petersburg, Russia[13] and in May 2012 the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg visited Spirax Sarco’s manufacturing facility in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[14] In May 2012 there was a shareholder revolt after Spirax-Sarco paid a former Executive Director compensation of £783,660; the company compounded the problem by failing to inform the markets of the shareholder revolt as required by the Listing Rules.[15] Then in November 2012 the company bought Termodinámica, a distributor based in Santiago de Chile.[16]